10 Best Body Horror Movies

2. Alien

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20th Century Fox

Alien is one of the all time great sci-fi movies. It is wonderfully directed by Ridley Scott during a visionary time in his career.

The plot follows the crew of the spaceship, Nostromo, as they are awoken from cryo-sleep to investigate a transmission from a nearby planet. Upon investigation they find an abandoned alien ship and a nest of eggs. One of the crew is attacked by a creature from one of the eggs and is brought back to the ship resulting in a terrifying chain of events.

Alien gave the world one of cinema's best heroines in Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and one of its most terrifying creatures in the eponymous Xenomorph alien.

In body horror terms the film was revolutionary. It dealt with extreme bodily invasion and takeover as well as the violence of childbirth. It reversed gender stereotypes through its infliction of insemination on the male crew members and pitted Ripley and the alien in a matriarchal battle, which continues to epitomise the Alien series of films.

The iconic design of the creature by H. R. Giger and his other contributions to the films art along with Scott's amazing attention to detail throughout make this an unmissable film.

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Film graduate and Project Manager from Newcastle Upon Tyne, horror obsessive, defender of underappreciated movies, lover of old school wrestling, catalogue of useless music trivia, aspiring author and all round moaner